Rail fish-plates.



C. GREEN.

i RAIL FISH PLATES. APPLICATION FILED AuG.9. I9I5.

1,172,788. Petented Feb. 22,1916.

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CHARLES GREEN, OF BERKELEY, CALIFORNIA.

RAIL FISH-PLATES.

To all 'whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES GREEN, a

citizen of. the United States, residing at.

Berkeley, 1n the county of Alameda, State of California, have invented new and useful Rail Fish-Plates, a specification in such full and clear terms as will enable those skilled in the art to construct and use the same.

This invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in fish plates for connecting rail ends.

An object of the invention is to produce Va fish plate which when attached to the rail ends will insure a rigid joint and will prevent the rolling stock from hammering on the rail ends.

1t will be understood by engineers that no matter how rigid a joint may be if the total load is carried from one rail to another that the stresses of the rail carrying the load are so considerable as to cause hammering of the rail to which the load passes even when the two rails are supported upon an absolutely rigid body. An example of this is as follows: Assuming the two rail ends tov be supported upon an absolutely'rigid body and the load passing from one rail end to the other, one rail end will have itsjnaterial I compressed with the load a certain amount,

say one one-hundredth` of an inch with` a load of ten tons. This causes the rail to which the load passes. to be struck a blow equivalent to ten tons from va height of one one-hundredth of an inch, so that to prevent this from taking place some' means must be provided to otherwise carry the load over the rail ends, and this object is-attained by providing a fish plate with its upper surface high enough to touch the wheels passing over the rail ends and prevent the load from,

compressing first one rail end and then the other, thereby avoiding any shock to either.

Another object of the invention is to provide fish plates that will effect the desired results and which may be used with any common form of rail.

Another object of the invention is to provide the rail connection with a solid, full rail width at the rail joint thereby giving ample support to the wheels as they pass from one rail to the other.

An embodiment of the invention is shown in the drawing in which the same reference numeral is applied to the same portion Specification of Letters Patent.

of which the following isf..

Patented Feb. 22, 191 6.

Application led August 9, 1915. Serial N o. 44,436.

throughout, but I am aware that there may be many modifications thereof.

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a pair of rails joined with the fish plates disclosed herein, Fig. 2 is a plan View of said rail ends, and Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional View through the fish plates at the rail ends.

' `he numeral l represents one of the rails which is of the well known type, 2 indicating the rail to be joined thereto. 3 indicates the inside fish plate which has a depending lug 3 formed therein at the center of its lower portion, said lug havin an opening to allow the bolt 13 to pass t erethrough.

, The fish plate"3 fits the rail in the usual manner on the side and has a flange 3a which extends under the base of the rail, said fla-nge having a scarf joint at 3b to fit an oppositely placed scarf joint 4c of the bottom flange 4L1 of the fish plate 4. The fish plate 4 has a web 4 at .its center to strengthen it .and it has a. depending flange 4" through which the bolt 13 passes. The lugs 3 and 4 are suitably braced to the lower flanges of their respective fish plates by the ribs 18 and 19.

The two fish plates 3 and 4 are joined to each other and to the rails by means of the usual four bolts 9, 10, 11 and 12 in addition to the bolt 13 which passes through the depending fianges 3 and 4". rlhe upper edge of the fish plate 4 adjacent the railtop is substantially level therewith throughout its length, save at the ends as indicated at 15 and 16 at which points the fish plate 4 is slightly below the top of the rails. In order for the fish plate to receive and carry the load of the wheels passing thereover it is slightly higher at its outer center portion 17 than the rails, this height being necessary to meet the ordinary coned wheels used on railway rolling stock and it is substantially as wide as the rail heads at its center, vwhile its upper outer edge tapers downwardly and inwardly to a point slightly below the rail tops as indicated in Fig. 1.

ln usual practice the fish plate 4 is made just high enough to receive the shock of the wheels passing over the rails and it has its extreme width at the center thereof with the result that the wheels passing ovei` the rails roll on and off with the least possible shock and practically no destructive pounding or hammering. The rails are secured to the ties by means of the usual spikes 7 and 8 in such number as may be deemed desirable.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is as follows, modifications within the scope of the claims being expressly reserved:

1. A pair of fish plates for connecting rails, one of said fish plates having its upper same horizontal planek rails, one of said fish plates having the edge thereof in contact with the rail in substantially the same horizontal plane as the upper surface of the rail throughout its length, the outer edge of the top surface of the fish plate being slightly higher than the inner edge thereof and sloping toward the inner edge, and tapering downwardly toward the ends, and a transverse fiange connecting the upper portion of the fish plate at its center with the base thereof.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand this Qnd'day of August, A. D. 1915, in the presence of the two subscribed witnesses.

CHARLES 'GREEN Witnesses:

HENRY B. Lrs'rnn, A. H. KEPHART. 

